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What I learned about pranks.

The Prequel:

I was explaining to my Graphic/Web Design professor that the problem with php contact forms was that you could enter any email address and it would send to the recipient under that email. I gave the example that I could send the entire class an email from our professor canceling class. In a challenging tone he said “Do it.” And so the prank began.

The Prank:

I used an existing php contact form and allowed input on my website for First and Last Name, Email, and Comments. I edited the recipient of the email to be my entire Graphic Design 4 class. This allowed me to input my teacher’s name and email and send it to my GD4 class telling them class was canceled. It worked and 7 students missed class (out of 18). Out of the remaining group: 4 didn’t see the email prior to class, 4 were in on the prank (including myself), and 3 were in the lab anyway to work on other projects.

The Repercussions:

As class started he called us all to the front and said “Is this everyone? Where is everyone else?” My response was “I told you I could do it.” He actually took this prank very well and I only had to email the 7 that missed and apologize. Also, I had to explain what we did in class today to each of them so they weren’t behind. And finally, I was assigned extra reading over the material we covered today and I have to teach what we learned today about branding to the 7 that missed class.

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I think the lesson I learned was to definitely let people know you’re pulling a prank. I do feel bad that they have to deal with what comes with missing class. The email was sent less than 12 hours before class started so that most of the students would have already completed their homework. And I plan to teach branding like a boss on Wednesday.